Free Speech and Moderation: from Filmmaker Rob Stewart dies off Alligator Reef

[AdivingBel]

...my entry into your sacred SB world...

Good night sweet prince...might be time to catch the train...

 

[Schwob]

... Done...

I thank you.

 

[Doc Ben]

Good night sweet prince...might be time to catch the train..

And it sure won't be to Missouri...

 

[Storker]

And I hope those of you who may have been offended by my entry into your sacred SB world...

Good grief, man! What's your problem? Did someone pee in your cornflakes last week and force-feed you with them every morning after that? You're maxing out my snark-o-meter here. Why the testiness, pompousness and snark?

You've been here for just a little more than a month. Unless you've spent quite a bit of time lurking, that's not much time to learn the tone and norms of this community. Now, you may be a social etiquette genius way more skilled in human interactions than I am, but I somehow doubt that. As others have pointed out before, you jumped into an A&I thread, and in blatant disregard for the Special Rules for A&I you posted:

Whomever controls this SB...please do not remove posts containing important information. Surely you can resist the pleas from some who think this thread ought to dissapear. Don't become a Google/Facebook censor. Thank you! Long live Free Speech.

In case you still haven't gotten it, A&I is a forum for the discussion of accidents. It's kind of alluded to in the forum name (you know, Accidents and Incidents). You went totally off the thread topic, which is explicitly against the Special Rules for that forum:

Discussions should only be about the causes, theories and remedies for these accidents. Off topic posts or those with off topic comments may be removed without notice.

Why is that rule there? Well, one doesn't really have to be a rocket scientist (or any other type of doctor for that sake) to understand that when

Someone has died or been injured

it's only common decency to

be civil, sensitive and still remain relevant

Well, at least that's what my parents managed to teach me when I was a boy. Apparently, your parents weren't as successful when they raised you.

I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you're able to read for comprehension. If that's the case, the only explanations for your behavior that I can imagine are:

1. You didn't bother to read the Special Rules forn A&I before you jumped in with a totally off-topic post, and you don't have the social skills to understand that a decent person should be following those special rules without having to be told so.
2. You read the Special Rules for A&I and decided that the rules don't apply to you - for some reason I can't fathom

I wanted to read through the dialog but saw many had MOD POST and who knows what was removed. Of course the MODs will say it violated the TOS, but without seeing it, I can only take their word.

So, what you're saying is that every mod decision should be vetted by you? Please, please tell me how that even remotely can be considered a good idea.

The MODS have personal info on members that the rest of us don't.

Yeah, the mods can check which email the user used for signing up, and which IP address they've posted from. Lots of personal info there.

So it may be time to end this thread...

Ever considered following your own advice?

and I started it!!

You sure did. When you signed up for SB, you were told about the site's Terms of Service (ToS). You were supposed to read and follow those. Did you miss that part saying

ScubaBoard is a friendly forum (interactive computer service) based on mutual respect.

Did you miss

Whilst a minor amount of off-topic posting may be overlooked, the general rule is your posts or threads must be relevant to the forum or thread in which you are posting.

or

While the Moderators will do their best to keep the forum civil, it's impossible for them to review every post. If any post seems to violate the spirit of mutual respect, please use the "Report Post" button at the bottom of the post to notify the moderation team. The Moderators have the last word in any dispute and are responsible for interpreting the ToS. When they deem it in the best interest of ScubaBoard, they may edit or delete any content posted on the site. They may suspend users when they deem it is necessary.

By signing up here, it was on the condition that you followed those ToS. If you think that the SB community isn't one you'll feel at home in and that the ToS for some reason are unreasonable, you're free to leave. No-one's holding a gun at your head keeping you here. I think there still are some die-hard flamers over at rec.scuba., maybe you'll fit in better there. Don't let the door hit you in the back when you're leaving.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

Moderators are humans too. We don't always get it right and sometimes we get upset and post things we shouldn't for which we apologize. In the interests of transparency I am leaving the posts in this thread intact.

If you see a post that breaks the special rules of a Sub Forum or ToS please Report it. We do appreciate it if you bring the thread back on topic with your posting but please don't get involved in a battle with the poster.

Your Report will generate a thread in the Staff Room that is invisible to general Members. Your confidentiality is protected and we will not indicate who has filed a Report.

Mods are volunteers and in different time Zones. There may be delays to allow time for different Mods to come online to get involved in the discussion about the Report. These delays may be increased in cases where the Mod needs specific technical knowledge.

Some Reports are just simple housekeeping like moving a thread to a different forum. These may be done quite quickly if there is a Mod online to do it as they don't require discussion.

More contentious issues are discussed and a consensus is reached. A Mod will then either Volunteer (claim) a case or be Assigned to a case as the "Visible Mod" who posts the Mod message and sends pm's to those involved.

Privacy is vital so we will not divulge the specifics of any Moderation decisions with anyone besides the person Moderated.

If a member has been Reported on multiple occasions by multiple members we are forced to use increasingly more serious Moderation up to and including forum or board wide temporary or permanent bans. Bans never occur without a significant history. What may look like something minor to others may be the final straw after many previous issues. People seldom admit or accept this fact if they are the"culprit"

Moderation is based on breaches of the ToS and any Special rules posted for that forum. We pride ourselves on being a friendly forum. We do not allow attacks on individuals. You may attack an idea or an action but not the person.

If a post is deemed to have broken the "rules" it may be edited which will be explained by a Mod message or removed from public view.

Off topic posts may be removed from public view or moved to their own thread to avoid "cluttering" the original thread.

We encourage free sharing of ideas but we do not allow promotion of dangerous practices such as cave diving without training.

If a moderator is posting without displaying the


** MOD POST: **

... message they are posting as a normal member. Moderators being human may breach the rules. If this happens they are Moderated like anybody else. Moderators get no special treatment but they are likely to get an additional dressing down in the staff room.

I hope this gives a clearer idea of how we attempt to keep this site a friendly place to exchange ideas. You are free to express your opinion here. You are not free to do so in a way that breaches the ToS you agreed to when you joined.

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